Photo of TAR HELL BABY ,707th B-24

Photo of TAR HELL BABY ,707th B-24

Greetings all and looking to find a good photo negative from a B-24 called TAR HEEL BABY of the 707th Squardon, 446th Bomb Group! All my searches have turned up no clues as to crew members and story behind the name of this B-24. Any ideas would be welcomed, contacted the group historian about a year ago and no info at that time as to crew members. If anyone has a copy of the group history and can check to see if the aircraft or crew is named in any fashion in the history, would be much welcomed. Hope all had a merry christmas and will have a great year in 2004!

Thanks so much for the advice and link to your great website, I will do this. I saw a photo of this B-24 Liberator flying in the ETO right after D-Day! I saw the photo on an English website devoted to the history of the 446th. I have been collecting WWII aircraft with the nose art representing the great state of North Carolina, know as the Tar Heel state! Long time member of the Mighty Eighth Historical Society and know full well what the B-24 did for our great country in World War II. Will check out your website and see what happens, I would love to locate the pilot ( if still alive) or any crews members to see why they gave her this name! The historian for the 446th could not help at the time and did not have crew list of which pilots flew which aircraft. Its been a long search and no results, thanks for taking time to offer any help.

My father was a crew member on TarHeel Baby beginning in May 1944. The pilot was He McQuade, the co-pilot was Gulbranson (don't know 1st name), William Lovell was the ball gunner, Ira Menoher was the radio operator, Harvey Garbish was the bombader, Henderson (don't know 1st name) was the nose gunner, Ralph David was the Tail gunner, Millard Carpenter was a waist gunner, Wilbert Arndt was a waist gunner, my father Eugene McGill was the engineer and top turret gunner. This crew was not the first assigned to the plane. They flew on D-Day and several weeks later my father was injured and hospitalized. He did not finish his missions with the rest of the crew. He returned after the rest of the crew had completed their missions and had to complete 31 missions as a sub with other crews. The number of missions required increased while he was in the hosptial. He also, flew on 'Worry Bird'. He retired from the Air Force in 1965 and lives in Orangevale California. He has many exciting stories to tell about flying in bomb missions. Ex. Coming back from a mission with only 1 operating engine, flying a treetop level, flying over the English channel on fumes and then arriving back at Bungay several hours after all of the other crews had assumed that TarHeel Baby was not going to return.